


The Lost Princess

by everystareverywhere



Category: Anastasia (1997), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Amnesia, Con Artists, F/M, Royalty, bad guy, movie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-21
Updated: 2015-10-27
Packaged: 2018-04-27 09:09:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5042395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everystareverywhere/pseuds/everystareverywhere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Royal Princess, Roselyn "Rose" Tyler, has been missing for the past ten years, after a curse was placed on her family. Some rumors state that she died, while others are positive she lived.  Con-Artists James Smith and Jack Harkness devise the best plan when they hear about a ten million pound reward for locating the missing princess: dress a woman up like the princess and teach her everything she needs to know. And it just so happens that a woman who looks an awful lot like the princess ends up on their doorway. Oh, and she has no memory of her past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Royal Family

**Author's Note:**

> This is heavily based on the 1997 movie, Anastasia. If you have not seen that movie, you need to go on Netflix right now and rent it. Also, how have you not lived?

James Smith peeked his head around the corner of the doorway, hoping to get a look at the festivities below. Being ten-years-old, James was able to move around without being noticed too much, since not only was he small, but thin as well. And he wanted nothing more than to look at the ballroom and watch the people dance.

Well, that wasn’t true. It kind of was, but that wasn’t the whole truth. No, as much as James wanted to watch people eat the nibbles he helped create and watch as dukes and duchesses and royals from surrounding kingdoms dance wonderfully around the floor, there was something even more beautiful than all of that. And right now she was dancing in the middle of the floor, laughing as her father twirled her around.

Her Royal Highness, Roselyn “Rose” Tyler. She was without a doubt the most beautiful girl James had ever set his eyes on. She was only two years younger than him, and James knew that adults wouldn’t understand how he could be in love with her when he didn’t know what love was. But that wasn’t the truth. The truth was he understood love; adults didn’t. Love was simple. Life made it difficult.

He admired not Her Royal Highness’s beautiful light pink dress, or the flowers that decorated her golden hair. They only enhanced what was already breathtaking. No, James was admiring her smile that he swore made the room ten times brighter, and her honey colored eyes that were shinning up at her father. He wished in his young heart that she would look at him and smile that way. But, alas, she did not. For she had no idea who James was.

James was a kitchen boy, who helped the chefs make the food for the family. He never even spoke a word to her, other than “Hello” when they passed in the hallway. But even then he never said it loud enough for her to hear, although once, just a few months back, he thought she heard him. She turned around, but James was much too embarrassed to even look up at her, and instead looked at his feet as he raced back to the kitchen.

James loved when the family had a ball, because he was usually able to sneak away for a while, able to see the room in full swing. And what a ballroom it was. The place was massive, able to hold close to a thousand people. Royalty from surrounding kingdoms came to celebrate the Royal Highness’s three hundredth year of rule. James saw people eating some of the food, others gossiping in the corners, while some drank the finest wine that was out for all the enjoy. The majority of the people, however, were on the dance floor, smiling at their partner and truly just enjoying life.

For a brief moment, James wished he had money just so he could dress as handsomely as the men and go up to the princess and ask for her hand to dance. He was a horrible dancer—one of the women in the kitchen tried to show him, but he kept tripping over his feet. She laughed and said that once he was older he would get better. James wasn’t sure about that. But if he could dance with the princess, he would take a thousand dance lessons until he could do it with his eyes shut.

Shaking his head to get rid of the fantasy that would never come true, James watched as Rose left her father’s side and ran up the stairs to where the thrones were. Sitting in one was the Queen’s father, His Royal Majesty, Wilfred Mott. He was an older gentleman, whose hair had long turned gray and whose face had years of laughter lines on it. And James felt a ping of jealously as he watched Rose run into her grandfather’s arms. It wasn’t so much because he wished Rose would run into his arms, but rather just jealous for a family in general. James’s parents died many years ago, both to the influenza. He didn’t have any siblings, much like his own parents. He was so young when they passed away, he barely remembered them, though all he knew was that they had worked in the castle. The others who worked here all came together to take care of him, and even the Royal Highness, Queen Jacquelyn Tyler, had come down when she heard the news of the deaths and to make sure the boy was alright. The other servants insisted that he was fine, and no there was no need to take him to an orphanage; they would take care of him.

And they did. There was Sarah Jane, the most wonderful baker in the town, who as almost like James’s mother. She was the one who took care of him when he was sick and who helped him learn how to read. Then there was Jamie who was the head butler, who taught James all about the stars. Ace was the head maid, and she taught James math and some science. Everyone it seemed on the working staff wanted to help James out the best way that they could, helping him become a strong and successful man. And James knew in his heart that one day he would make them all proud.

But for now, he watched as King Wilfed took something out of his pocket and showed it to Princess Rose, who gasped in delight. He couldn't hear a word they were saying, but his heart pounded with joy as he watched Princess Rose exclaimed happily before going into her grandfather's waiting arms.

"James?!" The young boy turned around and saw Mr. Cooper storming towards him. Of all the household staff, Mr. Cooper was the one who followed the rules to a tee, and watching the ballroom--even from a far enough distance--was a huge no-no. "What are you doing here? You belong in the kitchen!"

No matter how much James begged, Mr. Cooper took his arm forcibly and pulled him into the kitchen.

 

~*~

 

Her Royal Highness, Princess Roselyn "Rose" Tyler, was walking on air. This was the best night in her entire life. It seemed the entire country had come to celebrate her family's three hundredth rule, though she knew that was impossible. But everywhere she looked there were people eating, drinking, or even what she loved most to do - dancing. If she had her way, she would never get off the dance floor. Dancing with her father was the highlight of the evening, she was sure. However, that was until she saw her grandfather.

Her grandfather was the sweetest man in the entire world, and Rose dared anyone to find anyone with a kinder soul then he. He always looked out for his family, but he had a soft spot for Rose, and she knew it. She always loved it when he visited from London, somewhere that he was going to more and more lately. Rose wondered what it was about London that drew her grandfather, but he assured her that when she was older, he would show her firsthand. She couldn't wait.

But right now he was waving merrily at her, and she gasped with joy. She curtsied to her father who bowed back before gently kissing her on her forehead. She then ran up the stairs to the thrones where her grandfather was waiting for her.

"Grandpa! I knew you would come!" He held out his hands for her and she fell right into them, inhaling the deep smell of peppermint. When she pulled back, she exclaimed, "Oh, Grandpa, I'm having the most wonderful time! Did you see me dancing with Daddy? He was twirling me around the dance floor! Did you see?"

Her grandfather chuckled. "I did indeed. I also noticed that painting of your family that they did."

Rose glanced behind him to also look at the huge painting. Rose hated it. Everyone looked so stiff, including herself. That was never how she saw her family. Her parents were always laughing and enjoying themselves, especially her mother who enjoyed giving to those less fortunate. And her older sister, Reinette, or "Renee" as she was known to everyone in the family, looked like she had a big old stick up her butt, when really she was always gossiping to her friends or groaning over a joke their father had made. And her little brother, Anthony, or "Tony," was always babbling about a game he learned from his friends or a joke a person on staff had told him. Rose's family was about laughter and fun. The portrait did nothing to show that.

"That painting is stupid," Rose proclaimed.

"I think it shows the resemblance quite nicely," her grandfather responded. "Of course, they don't have you giggling like mad." He then proceeded to tickle his granddaughter, making her laugh loudly.

Renee shot them a dirty look before looking back out of that party. When they both calmed down, Rose asked, "So, Grandpa, when will you be leaving for London?"

"Oh, first thing in the morning, I'm afraid."

"But you just got here!"

"I know, I know. But I have some business to finish. Once I'm done, my flower, I'll be back."

"How long?"

"Oh," he squinted, thinking. "Two weeks, tops."

Rose sighed. "Fine."

"But in the mean time, I might have something for you." He pulled out of his pocket a small box. When he opened it, it revealed a golden necklace.

Rose gasped as her clumsy fingers pulled the beautiful necklace out of the box. "Oh, Grandpa, it's beautiful."

"Read what it says."

Rose read, "'Together in London.' Do you mean it, Grandpa?!"

"Of course I do!"

Rose lunged into her grandfather's arms, closing her eyes as she hugged him tightly. She opened them when she heard someone yell, "James! What are you doing here? You belong in the kitchen!" She watched as a boy slightly older than her was pulled back, though he looked like he would rather stay. Rose opened her mouth, planning on asking her grandfather is maybe the boy could stay for a little while, when he handed her another box. The little boy went clear out of her head.

"What's this?"

"Oh, just open it," her grandfather said with a chuckle.

She did so and gasped once more when a small box, just about the size of her hand, came into view. She took it out and held it up. "It's beautiful? Is it a jewelry box?"

"No, no," he chuckled. He took her necklace. "It's a key," he said, giving her necklace a small shake. He clicked the back of it into the side of the small box and turned it three times. The top of the box opened to reveal an even smaller man and woman dancing to a song.

"It's our lullaby!" she gasped, recognizing the song anyway.

"You can play it at night, Sweetheart, and pretend that I'm singing it to you."

As the music played, Rose sang along her grandfather joining in.

 

_"Dancing bears, painted wings,_

_Things I almost remember,_

_And a song, someone sings,_

_Once upon a December."_

 

"Oh, Grandpa, you're the best! I love you so much!" She gave him another hug, and he squeezed her, certain that nothing was going to ruin this moment.

Until, suddenly, something did.

The lights in the ballroom dimmed as the doors flew open, and there stood the most hated man in all the Gallifrey. He was wearing a dark cloak, but his light brown eyes shinned with a darkness that no one had ever seen before. His smile was wicked as the bird on his shoulder looked around, as though putting everyone down by a mere glance.

People screamed. Others ran. Somebody dropped their wineglass, the sound of it smashing echoing in the now eerily quiet room. He walked forward, even stepping on the glass as it crushed into even more pieces beneath his foot.

"What are you doing here?" Rose's father, His Royal Highness, King Peter, ran forward. "You are no longer wanted here! Get out!"

"Me?" the man said with a fake shocked voice. He threw back the hood on his cloak and his blonde hair shined. "Why would you throw me out when we are friends?"

"We are no longer friends!" Her Royal Highness, Queen Jacqueline, yelled storming towards them. "You lost our friendship when you decided to threaten our family!"

"Oh, I did no such thing." He said before grinning even more wickedly than he did before. "Okay, maybe I did. Once or twice."

"Get out, Koschei! Get out or so help me..." her father demanded, pointing to the door. He was standing stiffly, his back straight. Rose had never seen her father like this, and between her father and the man in the cloak, Rose snuggled closer to her grandfather, who wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"Now who's doing the threatening?" he asked, walking around the king and looking up at the three children, gathered by the thrones. "Oh, what lovely kids you have. All so beautiful, so well mannered."

"Leave them alone!" The Queen shouted.

Koschei tusked. "That is no way for a queen to behave. I'm simply complementing your children."

"Fine, you've done that, now go!" The King demanded.

"Oh, where is the love and compassion you all had?" he said, edging them on. The bird on his shoulder continued to stare its beady black eyes at everyone. Its eyes looked more dead than its master's.

"You threatened us! After we treated you like family! We showed you support and love, and then you decided to threaten all of us. You decided to dabble in black magic, and you wanted our children to come with you!"

"Ah, now, that is something that I want to talk about. See, I've been very successful in my work." He casually walked around the King and Queen as though they were discussing the weather. "I've done a lot of progress when it comes to black magic. And do you know what I've figured out what to do?" Neither the King nor Queen answered him, but it didn't matter. Koschei continued, undeterred. "A curse," he smirked. "I know how to lay someone with a curse. And that is what I have done!" Taking out a long thin tub, he raised it high and out came little green monsters, flying around the room, causing more havoc. "I pronounce the Tyler family to be cursed! And my curse is this: None of them shall live through the night!"

The three children ran towards their parents, who held them tightly.

Complete chaos ran throughout the room. People were pushing each other out of the way, trying to get to the exits. People were screaming, shouting at each other. Rose watched, not daring to breathe, though it was coming out in puffs, as everyone who was enjoying the atmosphere just five minutes ago were now frightened to death.

Rose looked back up at her grandfather and ran towards him, wanting to protect him as well. Jacqueline screamed for her daughter to come back, but between the screaming of everyone in the room and Rose's own panic, she never heard her.

 Little did Rose know, that would be the last time she would ever see her parents or her siblings.

Her grandfather grabbed her hand and they ran out through another doorway. "We must leave!" Wilf proclaimed. "Let's get to your room! Pack! Quickly!"

Rose and Wilf ran down the hallways. People were screaming as the little green monsters were causing more chaos by breaking things and even getting into people's heads, making them do things they wouldn't normally do. Suddenly people were turning on each other, fighting to the point of death.

Rose and Wilf ran into Rose's room, where she quickly grabbed her suitcase and began throwing things inside of it. Her necklace was hanging loosely around her neck and her music box was placed thoughtlessly on her nightstand. When Rose was finished, Wilf closed the suitcase with a loud _snap_ and picked it up before grabbing Rose's hand and running back down the hallway towards an exit.

It was when they were more than halfway to the door when Rose shouted, "My music box!" and ran back towards her room. Wilf followed her, yelling that the music box didn't matter.

Meanwhile, running through the secret passageways, James was trying to get out as quickly as he could while remaining hidden. He wasn’t sure what specifically was going on; Sarah Jane ran into the kitchen and yelled that everyone leave immediately. Stopping what they were doing, all wait staff ran out of the kitchen, but James stood still, not sure where to go.

“You must leave, James!” Sarah Jane insisted before grabbing his arm. “The castle is under seize! Go! Hide!”

Opening up a secret doorway in the kitchen that only a handful of people knew, she threw him in and demanded once more that he run. She slammed the door behind him, leaving him all by himself. But he didn’t mind. In fact, he liked it better by himself. Because then James could go and make sure that everyone was out of the royals' rooms, though he sure they were. But it didn’t hurt to make sure.

Knowing the hideouts made James’s exploration all the more easier, since he knew exactly what doors to open. And he opened them slowly, so not to draw attention to himself. He could hear people screaming as they ran down the hallway, both in fear and in power. After checking the King and Queen’s suite, Prince Anthony’s room, and Princess Reinette's room, James ran toward Princess Rose’s room. His heart pounded, hoping that he would find it empty, but of course, it was not.

Like he did in the other rooms, he opened the door slowly. And there in the middle of the room was Princess Rose, getting something from her nightstand and stuffing it clumsy into her coat pocket. Her grandfather stood near the doorway, begging her to move faster. When they heard a huge explosion come from somewhere in the castle, both jumped and King Wilfred grabbed Rose’s hand before leading her towards the door. But James knew that if they went that way, they would surely be caught. Not thinking twice, James opened the door and grabbed onto Rose’s arm.

“Come out this way,” he said, pulling not only Rose, but also her grandfather. “It’s the servant’s quarters.” Something fell out of Rose’s pocket, but among all the confusion, no one noticed.

The grandfather went first, Rose right behind him. She took two steps before turning around and saying hurriedly, “My music box!”

But James hear people coming and gave Rose one good push, sending her backwards. “Go!” he shouted as he closed the door.

Just as the wall closed, the bedroom door flew open. James looked at the two people with huge guns and instantly stood up straight. He would defend Rose and her family until his last breath.

“Where are they, boy?” the one demanded.

James picked up a statue Rose had near her bed and threw it at them. The one who asked the question hit James in the head with the butt of his gun, knocking the young boy unconscious.

When he came to many hours later, the castle was eerily quiet, he had a splitting headache, and there was a small blue box close to his hand.

 

~*~

 

While James was unconscious, Rose and Wilfred ran for their lives. They were able to get out of the castle and were currently running on top of water that had frozen over. Neither of them saw Koschei standing on top of the bridge until he yelled as he jumped over the edge.

"Koschei!" Wilf yelled, holding on tighter to his granddaughter who had fallen over in fright.

Koschei took that as his opportunity and grabbed onto Rose's ankle, holding just as tightly as her grandfather was. "Oh, oh, oh, little girl, you are _mine_!"

Rose kicked, but Koschei held a good grip. "Let go of me!"

The ice under Koschei started breaking up and suddenly his legs were ice cold. "No, no, no!" he screamed, and in his quest to remain on ground, he accidently let go of Rose, who flailed for a moment before rightening herself and both she and her grandfather took off.

" _No_!" Koschei screamed once more, his bird the only one watching as his master drowned in the icy water.

But neither Rose nor Wilf looked back. The only thing either of them saw was a train that was pulling out of the station. "Hurry!" Wilf yelled. Though he was much older than Rose, his legs were longer and he was running on pure adrenaline. "We can make it!"

The train was picking up speed, and in an effort to make it, Wilf let go of Rose's hand. That was the first thing he would regret much later on. But for now, he let go and threw Rose's suitcase onto the train. The people in the back helped him, one held onto the suitcase while others reached out for Wilf.

He grabbed onto someone's hand and pulled himself up onto the train. That was the second thing he would regret later on. For now, he turned around for Rose's hand. Her legs were so weak and she could barely breathe. "Grandpa," she gasped. "Don't...leave...me..."

"Come on, Rose! You can do it!'

She reached out and Wilf did the same, hanging over the back of the rail as fair as he could go. They just got the other's hand when the train started picking up speed.

"Come on, Rose!" Wilf cried. "You can do it!"

"Don't...let...go...!" Rose gasped.

And then the moment that would haunt Wilf's life forever happened. Her hand slipped out of his. She went down, hitting her head on the tracks, knocking herself unconscious. And the third thing that Wilf would forever regret: he didn't get off the train.

He tried, but the people around him held on, insisting that he stay. He screamed, hollered, yelled until his voice was hoarse. "Rose! Rose! _Rose_!"

So many lives were destroyed that night. Everything had changed.

And Wilf...

He never saw Rose again.


	2. A Rumor in Gallifrey

** TEN YEARS LATER **

A very handsome man named Jack Harkness walked the streets of Gallifrey, listening to the local gossip. It was this man's favorite past-time; it's how he heard about what was happening throughout the world. But more importantly, it's how he stayed one step ahead of everyone else. This man was good at keeping one ear to the ground at all times. And the rumor that was going around now was quite a doozy:

That the long lost princess, Roselyn "Rose" Tyler, was actually very much alive.

It was just a rumor, something that people muttered in alleyways and streets, but it was the rumor that fueled this small country. Ever since the catastrophe that had happened ten years prior, Gallifrey hadn't been able to get back up on its feet. People were getting money from however they were able, from selling food to selling items that they swear came from the palace. Of course, if these items did come from the palace, than they would be worth of a fortune. However, since none of the members of the Tyler family were still alive, no one could verify whether or not it was truly an item that belonged in the castle. Not that that stopped people from buying and selling these items, of course.

However, that all changed when His Royal Highness, Wilfred Mott, exclaimed that if anyone could help him find his granddaughter, Roselyn, then he would reward them with ten million pounds. That alone sent people into a hunt to find the princess. However, the problem was no one could locate her. No one seemed to know exactly what happened to the princess. Some were certain that she had died that night. But her grandfather held onto the hope that she was very much alive.

It was the reward money that sent Jack Harkness into the hunt. He needed the money desperately, and he had considerably knowledge of the family, since his father used to be on the board with the King, and would often talk about his work to Jack and the rest of the family. But Jack only knew the politics. He needed someone who had more personal knowledge...

"Psst, Jack!" he heard someone whisper. Looking over, he saw his partner in crime (literally), James Smith standing in the shadows. James had his hands in his long brown coat, and he grinned a wicked grin. "Come on, Jack! We got work to do!"

They walked quickly, talking in hush whispers as they traveled back towards the now completely empty castle. No one paid them any attention. Since the castle was now worn down, anyone could come in if they wanted to get off the streets for a little while. No one did, of course, because some thought that it was cursed. James and Jack felt that the place was most certainly not cursed, and therefore continued to live there with no one the wiser.

"I got us the theatre, James," Jack said, taking off his jacket and making himself a stiff drink.

As he gulped it down, James nodded. "Good, good. That's great. This is exactly what we need, Jack. We just need to find a girl--"

"I know, I know. Find a girl, teach her everything about the Tyler family, and before her grandfather's any of the wiser--"

"Boom!" James clapped his hands. "We are gone! And ten million pounds richer!" James bounced on the balls of his feet and laughed. "Oh, Jack, the plan is fool proof! Between you and me, we know everything about the Tylers. Oh!" he exclaimed as he remembered something. "And let us not forget the pièce de résistance!" He took out of his safe a small blue box. He had absolutely no idea what it was, but he found it near his hand when he came too all those years ago. And figuring that because it was in Princess Rose's room, it had to be something important. "This will prove to His Royal Highness that we most certainly have the princess with us!"

Jack grinned. "Oh, James, my boy, you are brilliant."

James smirked. "I know. When do the auditions start?"

Jack looked at his watch. "In about twenty minutes."

"Then we better get going." James put the box back into the safe and closed it up. That was the only thing they had that no one else did. James was certain that no one knew about that little box, therefore that would give James and Jack a leg over anyone else.

Once there were outside, James put his arm around Jack's shoulders. "Believe me when I tell you this Jack, this will be the biggest con in history! We are going to make a mint! And nothing stands in our way!"

Jack smiled. "Let's find our girl first, eh?"

 

~*~

 

Across town there was a building that desperately needed work done. The paint was peeling, the steps were full of cracks, and the windows barely kept the warm air in. The sign hanging from the gutters read 'Cassandra O'Brien's Orphanage' in peeling letters. And all the children were looking out the top window, waving good-bye to the oldest one, the one who just turned eighteen.

"Good-bye!" Emma yelled, waving back to the children. "Good-bye! I'll miss you! You be good!"

"I got you a job," Cassandra huffed. She was a thin woman who put more work into her appearance than the orphanage. Her hair was perfectly styled, as though she was going on a date, not taking care of twenty homeless children. "It's at the fish market."

"Bye! Bye!" Emma continued waving, completely ignoring the older woman.

"You're going to want to take a left when you get to the fork in the road - _Are you listening to me?!_ "

Emma stopped waving and turned back towards Cassandra. "Yes, Ms. O'Brien."

Cassandra huffed once more. "You have been a thorn in my side ever since you were dropped off here ten years ago! Acting like you're a princess, when you should be acting like the no one you are!"

Emma had heard this conversation too many times to actually pay any attention now. She turned back towards the window and continued waving. "Bye!"

"For the last ten years," Cassandra continued, walking towards the gates. Emma looked back at the older woman and rolled her eyes. She's definitely heard this speech a hundred and twelve times. She started muttering along with Cassandra. "I've fed you, I've clothed you, I've--"

"Put a roof over my head," Emma finished.

Cassandra glared at Emma. "Who the _hell_ do you think you are?! And how in _hell_ can you remember all that, but you can't remember your freakin' _name_?! Nor do you have any idea where you came from?!"

"Well, I do have a clue--" Emma pulled out her necklace from under her sweater.

"Argh, I know!" Cassandra took the pendent and mockingly read, "'Together in London.' So, you want to go to London to find your family?" Emma nodded. Cassandra huffed. "Please! You have no family! You are a no one! You were born a no one and you will die a no one!" She pushed Emma through the gate. "It's time you've figured out your place in life!" She slammed the gate in Emma's face as she laughingly mocked, "'Together in London'! Oh please!"

Emma sighed before turning around. She took a deep breath as she started her way. Now that she was eighteen, she was free to leave the orphanage, and though it was bittersweet (more because she didn't want to leave the children than anything else) Emma knew that it had to be done. Like Cassandra said, it was time to figure out her place in life.

When she reached the fork in the road, Emma was impersonating Cassandra. " _You're no one, Emma_ ," she said in her most obnoxious voice. She looked at the two signs. One read fish market, the other read Gallifrey. " _Go left_ , she said." Emma sighed. "Well, I know what's to the left. I'll be Emma the Orphan forever. But if I go right, _maybe_ I could find--"

The idea of finding her family was slim to none, she knew that. After all, it's been ten years. If someone wanted her, surely they would have come looking. But she couldn't help but wonder...

She fiddled with her necklace, something she was prone to do when she was nervous. Looking down at it, she read the words that she had memorized a long time ago. "Someone gave this to me. So that means _someone_ must want me!" She groaned, trying to figure out what to do. One lead her on a path that was boring, but safe. The other would take her on an adventure that she couldn't possibly imagine. But it also left no guarantees. There was nothing that stated that if she went right, she would actually find her family.

Looking towards the sky, she yelled, "Send me a sign! A hint! Anything!" She plopped down next to the sign when out of nowhere a dog appeared. It was a small dog, gray with floppy ears and sparkling brown eyes. It's tail wagged when it saw Emma and barked happily.

She waved her hand limply. "Move along, boy. I'm waiting for a sign."

The dog barked again and started shaking his booty, as though ready to play. "Go away," Emma said again. But again the dog did not follow instructions. Instead it grabbed at the scarf Emma had in her coat pocket and pulled at it. "Hey! What are you--Give that back--Why you little--!"

The dog tangled Emma up in her scarf and she fell over, landing on the hard ground. She stood up and wiped the dirt off of her coat and pants. "Argh, a _dog_ wants me to go to Gallifrey." Then it clicked. She scooped down to pick up her scarf that the dog let go off as it panted happily. "Okay," she muttered, "I can take a hint."

Taking a deep breath, Emma put her scarf into her pocket once more before looking at the sign. It pointed right, to Gallifrey. "Okay," she sighed. "Here I go." She started walking before she stopped and looked behind her. The dog was still panting, watching Emma. She nodded her head forward before saying, "Come on, boy! There's a past that I have to remember!"

The dog barked happily before trotting along beside Emma.

 

~*~

 

Emma headed towards the local train station, the dog - that she named Pooky - under her arm. They were both tired, the walk much longer than she had anticipated. But the fact that she could go to London and find her family made the whole trip worth it. Emma just knew that all of her years of dreaming couldn't be wrong. There was going to be someone at the end of this journey with their arms opened wide and she couldn't wait to run into them.

The whole walk, she dreamed what her family might look like. Would they all have blonde hair like her, or would she be the only one? Did she have her mother's eyes or her father's? Did she have a sister she could share secrets with, or a brother whom she would argue with? Or maybe she had both! She got lost in her daydreams, almost picturing a luncheon they would all share and the laughter and games that would be played amongst them. She didn't care that they gave her up, though she knew she should probably care about that a little. What she wanted most was just to _find_ them, to know that she belonged somewhere.

Because, in the end, isn't that what everyone wants? To know that they belong?

Emma shook her head as she walked up to the ticket booth.

"One ticket to London, please," she said, her voice more confident than she felt.

"Exit visa," the bored receptionist replied.

"Exit visa? Well, I don't--"

"No exit visa?! No ticket!" the man suddenly shouted as he slammed the window shut.

Emma huffed, trying to figured out what to do next when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see an elderly woman standing behind her.

"You want to go to London? Go see James, 'e can 'elp," the woman said in a low voice.

Emma whispered as well. "Where can I find him?"

"In the old palace. But you didn't 'ear it from me," the woman ended with urgency in her voice.

"Hmmm," Rose hummed. "James, eh?"

"Yes, now go. Go!"

 

 

~*~

 

The auditions, to put it mildly, were not going well.

"I can dance like a feather!" said one actress on stage who did not resemble Rose in the slightest. "I got moves you ain't seen!"

"And I don't want to see them," James muttered as he crossed her name off the list he had in front of him.

"Hey, speak for yourself, she's hot," Jack insisted, putting a star next to her name.

"Jack, I can't with you right now," James hissed, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Thank you," he said to the woman on stage who skipped off. "Next, please!"

A woman that was way too old to play eighteen-year-old Rose came onto the stage with a heavy fur jacket. "Grandpa," she hoarsed out, "it's me, Roselyn."

Jack knocked his head to the table and whimpered while James crossed out another name. "Oh brother," he muttered.

After ten more auditions, which got worse as the evening wore on, something James didn't even think was possible, Jack and James packed up their papers, and headed back to the castle.

They were outside when Jack turned to James, "I can't believe this! I can't believe that in this entire theatre, there is no one who can play Roselyn! How is that even _possible_?!"

"We'll find someone, I'm sure of it. She'll be right under our nose." They were walking along when James bumped into a woman who was wearing a brown coat that had a scarf hanging out of the pocket and holding a dog in her arms.

"Excuse you," the woman muttered before turning to another man to ask, "Do you know where the old Tyler palace is?"

James, not even listening to the woman, continued his conversation, "Besides, don't forget we have the magical box! Once the King sees this, he'll think we brought the real Rose."

"Roselyn, James. It's Princess _Roselyn_."

"I know."

"Yeah, I know you know, but you always call her Rose. Only her family did that. And though you worked in the castle, you were not family."

James shifted his shoulders as he said, "I know that. Of course I know that. I don't need to be reminded."

Jack held up his hands. "Okay, okay. I'm just saying, when we talk about her to Donna, you might not want to call her Rose. Don't give away that you at least worked there and know inside information."

"Jack, this isn't my first con. I know what to do."

"The stakes are high on this one, that's all I'm saying."

James rolled his eyes. "I know what to do, Jack."

"And what's the first rule of any con?"

"Ah, Jack, come on," James whined.

"Answer the question. What's the first rule of any con?"

James sighed. "Don't fall in love."

Jack nodded. "Once you understand that key detail, everything else falls into place."

James shook his head. "You know the only reason you're with me is because I needed someone who had more info on the family, right?"

Jack grinned as they entered the castle through the back. "Why do you think I picked you?"

 

~*~

 

Emma walked along the perimeter of the castle, giving a low whistle. It was massive. Longer than any building she had ever seen. She couldn't imagine growing up in a place like this. You could get lost trying to find the bathroom!

Pooky was walking alongside Emma, sniffing the ground. They reached what must have at one time been the entrance, but was now all boarded up when Pooky slipped in between the wooden boards and ran inside.

"Pooky!" Emma yelled-whispered. She didn't know if anyone was home, and though she was looking for a door, she doubted that anyone would have heard her knock anyway. If someone was in the wing, they definitely wouldn't have heard her. But she needed to get her dog back and no matter how many times she called for him, Pooky did not return. So, Emma did the only thing she could think of; she grabbed onto the boards and pulled as hard as she could, breaking some boards off.

 

~*~

 

James looked up from his dinner. "Did you hear something?"

Jack shook his head. "No."

James, however, was convinced he heard something and got up to investigate.

 

~*~

 

Emma walked inside, the place even bigger than she could have imagined. In front of her was a huge staircase, the biggest one she had ever seen! And at the top was Pooky.

"Hello!?" she called out. "Anybody home?"

Pooky was sitting at the top of the stairs, tail wagging when Emma joined him a few minutes later. She quickly patted the dog on the head before moving on. The room she was in was a small, but by calling it small it could still easily fit over a hundred people. There was a long table set up that had more than ten years of dust on it. Whatever happened in this place, people left in a hurry. She picked up one of the dishes and looked at it. There was something about the dishes that nudged at the back of her mind. For the life of her, however, she couldn't figure out what.

Turning around, she noticed a huge vase by a grand entrance and looked at it. Touching it lightly, Emma hummed. "This place," she whispered to Pooky who was standing near her feet. "This place, Pooky, it's like...it's like a memory from a dream."

She walked into the ballroom and gasped at how huge it was. About twenty of the orphanage houses could fit easily in this one room. She ran down the ground staircase, taking off her coat and gloves along the way. When she reached the floor, she could just picture people coming out in their best dresses, waltzing around the room. She pictured an older man with strawberry blonde hair wearing a royal's outfit coming over to her and dancing. For a moment, Emma forgot where she was, and began dancing with thin air. She hummed a nameless tune under her breath as her feet did moves she never remembered learning.

Her spell was broken, however, when she heard someone yell, "Hey!" She looked up at the other side of the room to see a young man standing there, pointing at her. "You! How did you get in here?!"

Emma took off running, forgetting to even ask about this James person. She was terrified this man would have her arrested for trespassing.

Even though Emma was fast, this man was faster. He was more than halfway across the room when she reached the top of the stairs, stopping in front of a huge portrait.

"Hold on a minute, hold on!" James shouted.  He stopped in the middle of the stairs and looked up at the intruder. "Now, how did you get in he-here?" He could hear Jack running behind him, but James's could not take his eyes off of what was in front of him.

It couldn't be...

There was no way...

Just a crazy coincidence...

But there, standing in front of the family portrait of the royal family was a woman. This woman was standing next to Princess Roselyn in particular. And this woman looked exactly like Princess Roselyn, only ten years older. Exactly. The same hazel eyes, the same heart-shaped face, the same full lips.

James had found the perfect impersonator!


	3. A Bumpy Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that two main characters have met, sparks will fly.

"Jack," the slightly younger man whispered, "do you see what I see?"

"A really hot girl?"

James nudged his friend before saying, "Rose. She looks like Rose!"

"Oh." Then a moment later, with much more feeling, " _Oh_!"

"Are you James?" the woman asked, folding her arms over her chest.

James walked up the stairs, getting closer to the woman. The resemblance was remarkable really. He was so busy looking at the woman, he didn't see a dog sniffing around his feet until he almost tripped over it. James asked, "What is this? A dog?" He picked it up and turned to give it to Jack.

"Excuse me? Are you James?" the woman asked again.

The young man gave a chuckle. "Well, that all depends on who's looking for him."

"I'm Emma. I was told you were the man to see about travel tickets, though I can't tell you who said that."

James started walking around the young woman, raising a hand to his chin. She was perfect. She was bloody perfect!

"Whoa, what are you--why are you circling me? What were you, a vulture in another life?"

"I'm sorry, Emily."

"Emma," she corrected.

"Emma," he repeated, distracted by all the thoughts that were currently floating through his head. The first thought was _Holy crap, I'm rich!_

"Em-ma," she said slowly, as though he couldn't figure out how to pronounce her name.

"Right, yes, it's just you spare an awful likeness to...Nevermind." Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he said, "Now, you said something about travel tickets?"

"Yes. I would like to go to London."

"You would like to go to _London_?!" James couldn't believe his luck. First there was a woman who looked an awful lot like the lost princess, and now she was telling him she wanted to go to the exact place he needed to go! What were the chances?

James turned to Jack, to see if he heard the same thing, but Jack was quite taken by the dog who was licking his face.

"Oh, James, oh look, James. He likes me!"

"Good dog," James muttered before turning back to Emma. "So, er, Emma, is there, uh, a last name to go with that?"

Emma shook her head. "No, no, uh, no. I, er, I don't have a last name."

"Oh? Really? How is that--?"

"I'm from an orphanage. I,er, was I was found wandering around when I was eight-years-old..."

"And before that? Before you were eight?"

Emma looked down at her shoes and picked her fingernails. "Look, I don't have any memory from before that, alright? I, er, I don't remember anything."

"Oh, well, that's...perfect," he muttered.

Standing up straight, Emma said with more conviction, "But I do know one thing, and that is London."

"London?"

"Yes. _So_ , can you two help me or not?"

James turned back towards Jack. "The tickets," he whispered before turning back towards Emma. "Well, we would like to." Jack placed them in the hand James had behind his back. "Really we would. But we have three tickets here for London, and one them is for _her_ ," he said pointing to the little girl in the portrait. "Roselyn."

Emma looked at the picture. "Ah."

James and Jack each took one of her arms before pulling her up the stairs to get to another portrait.

"You do kind of resemble her, you know," James commented.

"The same hazel eyes," Jack stated.

"The Tyler eyes," James added.

"Jacqueline's smile."

"Peter's chin."

Jack took her hand. "She even has the grandmother's hand."

"You're the same age, the same physical type."

Rose gave a humorless laugh. "Are you trying to tell me that you think _I_ am Princess Roselyn?"

"I'm trying to tell you that I have seen girls all over the country and not _one_ of them shares as striking resemblance as you do," James said. "I mean, look at this portrait."

But Emma didn't look at the portrait. She looked at the men instead, raising her eyebrows. "You know, I knew you were mad in the beginning, but now I think you are _both_ crazy!"

She started to walk away when they both came up on either side of her again.

"Why?" James asked. He grinned and Emma's frown deepen. "You don't know what happened to you."

"No one knows what happened to her," Jack added.

"You are looking for family in London."

"And her only family is in London!"

Turning her back towards the portrait, James asked, "Have you ever thought about the possibilities?"

"What, that _I'm_ a princess?" Both men hummed agreeably. Emma shrugged. "I, er, I guess. Yeah, I guess every lonely girl wishes she was a princess."

James turned around, certain that they almost had her. Jack commented about how somewhere there was a girl who was really a princess, but James knew that if they kept trying to convince her, she may lose interest. Best to let her think about it.

James turned back and grabbed Jack by the shoulders. He said to Emma, "That last ticket is for Princess Roselyn, however. Best of luck."

Jack put Pooky down before letting James pull him along. Once they were far enough away, they walked down the stairs as Jack whispered, "Why didn't you tell her about our brilliant plan?"

James shrugged. "She just wants to go to London. Why give away a third of the reward money for that?"

Jack shook his head. "Man, I think we are walking away too soon."

"Not at all, my friend. Just walk a little bit slower."

Meanwhile, Emma was looking up at the portrait. It was of a young girl standing next to a much older gentleman. They were holding hands. The young girl did look a little like her, she supposed. Maybe in the eyes. Her mind was racing. She did want to find her family. Maybe James was the best bet she had.

James turned to Jack. "Three, two, one..."

"James!" Emma shouted, running after them.

"Ah!" Jack laughed quietly. "Right in the palm of our hands."

"James, wait!"

Faking oblivious, James turned around. "Oh, did you call me?"

"If I don't remember who I am, what's not to say that I'm not a duchess or a princess or whatever she is, right?"

"Hmm-mm, go on."

"Yeah, and if I'm not the princess, well the King will certainly know right away, and it's all been an honest mistake."

"Sounds plausible," James commented.

"But," Jack said, stepping forward, "if you _are_ the Princess, than you will finally know who you are and get your family back!"

"You know," James said, rubbing his chin. "He's right. Either way, it gets you to London."

Emma held out her hand. "Right!"

James took it before pulling back quickly. She had one hell of a grip.

"Pooky, we are going to London!"

The dog barked as James commented, "Uh, no, the dog stays."

"What are you talking about, the dog goes."

"No, I'm allergic to dogs."

"You are not."

Jack smiled to himself as he watched the other two bicker. He was certain that they were going to be doing this the whole way to London.

 

 

~*~

 

Down, down, down into the Earth's center, there was a place unlike any other. It was full of huge rocks that barely resembled planets, and on these rocks were crevices and more rocks and little else. But on one particular rock, there was a man. A man who had been dormant for ten years. A man who was now waking up.

Stretching, Koschei got up and looked around. He had no idea how long he had been here. All he knew was that after he let that pesky girl get away, he was frozen over and ended up in this god-forsaken place. He didn't understand where he was or how he had even gotten there.

Patting himself down, he noted that everything seemed to be in its place. Walking was a bit difficult, but since he was basically sleeping for god-knows how long, that wasn't overly shocking. Shaking himself, he stumbled as he moved closer to what looked like a mirror. And once he saw his reflection, he groaned.

His once sparking eyes were dull and lifeless. His blonde hair was hanging in his face and he reeked of dirty clothes. He was once so handsome, so beautiful, and now he was nothing.

"What happened to me?" he asked no one. However, he did get a response.

Something started making a clicking noise. Turning around, he was looking around, trying to figure out where that noise was coming from. Then, he saw it, a good distance away: something was glowing.

As he got closer to the glowing object, the clicking sound got louder. It was his reliquary. Koschei almost cried with delight. Though his legs still weren't fully restored, he moved as quickly as he could, bumping into the furniture and tripping over his own feet, trying to get to his precious reliquary. He was so relieved when it was back in his hands that he actually kissed it.

"Oh my! What--I can't believe!" He held it tightly, so thankful that it was in perfect condition. However, it wasn't because it was some sign that everything would be alright that made Koschei so relieved to have it back in his hands. There was a more villainous reason.  

Ten years ago, Koschei worked for the Tyler family as their protector. But as time wore on, Koschei felt like his power of protecting was being neglected and forgotten about. So, he spoke to the King and Queen, telling them that he felt that they were ignoring him. They of course argued that what he was feeling was wrong and told him to drop the subject. But he couldn't. And as time went on, he got angrier and angrier. That's when he started teaching the children, especially the young boy, about black magic. And that's when he started telling people outside of the castle the family's secrets. He felt that if they were going to treat him like dirt, then he was going to let everyone know about what happened behind closed walls.

Of course, the King and Queen were horrified that their children were dabbling in such horrible things and that personal secrets were now out in the open and fired Koschei on the spot. He had warned them that one day he was going to get his revenge, and then they would never make him feel forgotten again.

The night that they fired him, Koschei came up with the perfect plan to destroy them: he sold his soul to black magic. In return, he was given a reliquary that held tiny green monsters that could do more damage than anyone could imagine. But, if something happened to the reliquary, than his life would be over as well. His life depended on it, his very existence. If it broke, he was dead. It was as simple as that.

So it meant everything to have this in perfect condition.

But that didn't really answer the question of why he was _here_ in this awful place and why after so much time did he finally wake up.

So, he rubbed the reliquary, much like how one would rub a lamp, and out of the small opening came some gas that formed a circle. In the circle, a scene was playing out. There was a man and a woman, both young, who were getting onto the train. The man was wearing a brown pinstripe suit and had brown hair and the woman had on a raggedy dress with a long jacket covering it and blonde hair. But he knew that face. He would know it anywhere.

"Roselyn!" he shouted. "Alive?!"

The scene faded as Koschei waved his hand through the smoke. "That's why!" he exclaimed, pacing. "That's why I'm stuck in here in this limbo! My curse is unfulfilled! That young brat is still alive!"

Continuing to pace, Koschei tried to figure what was specifically he should do. Well, it was obvious really: he had to kill Princess Roselyn. But how?

His eyes went over toward his reliquary and the evil little pests that lived inside of it. He grinned. Oh, he knew exactly what he could do.

 

~*~

 

Jack and Emma were sitting down on the seats in their carriage as James slid the last of the luggage into the compartment overhead. He went to sit down between Jack and the window when he suddenly heard a growl and bark from underneath him.

"Hmm, the mutt gets the window seat, huh?" he muttered. Neither Jack nor Emma told Pooky to get down, so James sighed and sat down next to Emma instead.

She slid down her seat and was fiddling with her necklace. It was driving James crazy. "Will you sit up? And stop fiddling with that thing! Remember, you are a royal."

Emma did sit up and stopped playing with her necklace, but gave James a look that could kill. Suddenly she cooled her features as she asked, "How is it you know what princesses do or don't do?"

"I make it my business to know."

"Oh." After a moment, she asked, "James? Do you really think I'm royalty?"

"You know I do," he said with a cool smile.

She gave him a glare. "Then stop bossing me around!" she hissed before slumping back in her seat and playing with her necklace.

James looked over at Jack, both angry and stunned look on his face. Jack chuckled. "She certainly has a mind of her own," he muttered.

James fixed his jacket and tried not to look over at Emma. There was something about her that got under his skin, and he didn't like it. "Yeah, I hate that in a woman."

Emma stuck her tongue out at James, but when he turned to look at her, she looked out the window on the other side of her.

Jack chuckled to himself. The entire trip to this point had been filled with bickering between the two of them, and if he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that they harbored little crushes on the other.

A little while later, Jack had taken Pooky to see if they could find the dining car, leaving Emma and James alone.

James felt a little bad for the way he had been talking to her, bickering the whole time they have known each other. So, with that, he went into the carriage where she was reading a book about London that she had picked up from the train station. She didn't put it down when he entered.

"So, er, Emma, I wanted to talk to you."

She lowered the book, but only slightly. He figured that was her way of saying continue.

"It seems to me that we got off on the wrong foot."

She lowered the book then. "Well, I think we did too. And I want to thank you for your apology."

"Whoa," James said, before his mouth realized he had began talking. "Who said anything about an apology? I was just--"

"Oh, just stop it, okay?" Emma slammed the book shut. "If you keep talking, you're only going to upset me."

"Fine. I'll be quiet. I'll be quiet if you'll be quiet!" Good Lord, what was he, ten? Why couldn't he have a normal conversation with this woman?

"Fine," she responded. "I'll be quiet."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

They were silent. Emma was looking out the window, James was staring at nothing in particular. After a few minutes, Emma asked, "So are you going to miss it?"

"Miss what? Your talking?"

"No," Emma snapped. She gestured towards the fast moving scenery. "Gallifrey."

James started picking at his fingernails. "Nope."

"Why?" Emma leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees. It would be his luck that the first real conversation they had would be the one he didn't want to talk about. "Isn't it your home?"

"It was a place I once lived, end of story."

"Well, are you planning on making London your new home?"

"What is it with you and homes?!" he asked, crossing his arms and putting his feet on the opposite seat and crossing his ankles, so that he was stretched out across the whole carriage.

Emma stood up and waited for James to lower his legs. He didn't. "Well, for one thing it's something that every _normal_ person wants." She began nudging his legs, but he still refused to lower them. "And for another thing, it's a thing where you -- a thing where you--"

"What?"

Emma walked up onto the cushions and walked around him that way. She groaned as she lowered herself back to the ground. "Oh, just forget it!"

He stood up quickly. "Fine!"

Jack opened the door to the carriage, Pooky under his arm, and saw both Emma and James fuming. "What's going on?"

"Oh, thank goodness it's you! Please," she pointed to James. "Remove him from my sight!"

Jack looked over at James. "What did you do to her?"

"Me?!" James pointed back at Emma. "It's her!"

"Ha!" Emma shouted before leaving the carriage, muttering under her breath.

Jack fixed Pooky and looked at him in the eyes, "Oh, Pooky, I think we have an unspoken attraction!"

" _Attraction_?!" James all but yelled. "To that little brat, have you lost your mind!?"

James stormed out of the carriage, going in the opposite direction of where Emma went. "Attraction," he muttered. "Ridiculous."

Back in the carriage, Jack looked at Pooky. "I think we might be in some trouble," he said to the dog, who licked him in response.

About an hour later, Jack was walking down the hallway of the train, and overheard a couple talking about the traveling papers. Apparently the paperwork was suppose to be done in a certain color, and of course neither Jack nor James did it in the right color. When he heard the conductor shouting for the paperwork, Jack ran back towards the carriage.

Emma and James were both in the room, though Emma was tight asleep, her jacket covering her while James was just finishing his paperwork.

"James," Jack hissed, "the paperwork is all wrong."

"Wrong?" James stood up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Jack said looking over his shoulder as the conductor got closer. "That we need to get out of here."

"I vote that we just get off this train completely." James muttered before turning to get the luggage off the rack. He paid no mind to Pooky who was barking like mad at the window. He never saw little green monsters flying by, heading towards the front of the train.

Jack grabbed some of the suitcases and pointed to Emma. James gave Jack a look with a tilt of his head, but Jack gestured to his watch before leaving. James sighed before bending over and shaking Emma awake.

"Emma," he whispered. "Come on, Emma, wake up."

Without realizing it, Emma's arm came out from underneath her and smacked James in the face. " _Ow_!" he shouted, falling onto the seat behind him.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I--" When she realized who she hit, she stopped apologizing and said, "Oh, it's just you. That's alright then."

"Come on, we gotta go," James said, pulling her up before grabbing some suitcases.

"Wait, where are we going?" Emma asked, but James was already in the hallway.

"I think you broke my nose!" he shouted as he moved towards the front of the train.

Emma fixed her jacket before following him. "Men are such babies."

Jack was already in the luggage cart when Emma and James walked in. Jack muttered to James, "She'll freeze in here."

"She can thaw in London," he muttered back.

"The baggage cart?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow. "There wouldn't be any problems with our papers, now, would there, Bond?"

"Absolutely not, Your Highness," he lied as he grabbed her bag. "I just, er, didn't want you to have to socialize with all those commoners."

Before Emma could make any sort of retort, there was a huge explosion and the three of them went flying towards the other side of the cart. James landed on top of Emma and a heavy suitcase landed on top of him. Emma was kicking at him, telling him to get off, but moving the box wasn't as easy as it looked.

"I'm trying!" he shouted when she kept repeating for him to get off of her.

When he finally managed to get free, he jumped up and began dusting off his pants as he asked, "What was that?"

"Somebody dislodged the  train," Jack answered, looking through the window in the door. "The rest of the train is back there."

Emma called out, "Er, guys?"

"What?"

"You might want to take a look at this."

James and Jack ran over toward  her and saw what she did: green smoke coming from the front of the train. "I'll go check it out," James said, slamming open the door open and began climbing up onto the coal cart.

When he jumped into the steam engine, he yelled, "Anyone in here?" though he could see no one was. The room was boiling, much too hot for anyone to be working in this thing. He shielded his eyes as best as he could, but looked at how fast they were going. The speedometer was almost broken.  

Emma had just commented that they were going way too fast when James literally jumped down in front of her. "No one is driving this train," he shouted over the wind that was getting louder the faster they were moving. "We're going to have to jump."

Emma turned to Jack. "Did he say jump?"

James pulled open a side door, but when they looked down, all they were was a chasm. Emma gestured to the empty space. "You first?"

"Okay," Jack said, holding onto a pole. "We're going to have dissemble the cars."

What they didn't know was the little green monsters were the ones causing all of this chaos, waiting for the opportunity to grab "Emma." So when they heard Jack's idea, they immediately went towards the chains that connected both the coal car to the luggage car and welded the two together. By the time James got there, holding out his hand for a hammer, screwdriver, anything, they were gone.

Jack handed James a hammer, and he immediately started trying to get the chains broken, but nothing happened. Meanwhile, Emma was looking through other boxes trying to find something when she noticed a box that said "FIREWORKS." Thinking that had enough power to at least break apart the two trains, she ran over towards Jack.

"Do you have a lighter?" she asked.

Jack raised his eyebrows. "This is no time for cigarette. Though, on second thought..."

"Jack!" she shouted, holding out her hand. He fished in his pockets until he pulled one out and handed it to her. She ran over to the box of fireworks and pull out a long thin one.

Just as James broke the hammer in his hand and demanded something better, Emma handed him a lit firecracker.

With huge eyes, James commented, "That'll work." He placed it in between the melted chains and told them all to run to the other side of the train. Emma had grabbed Pooky and held him securely in her arms as the three of them ducked, James covering Emma as best as he could.

They felt rather than saw the fireworks go off, since the whole car shook with the force. When it was done, they peeked over the box they hid behind and noted that, yes, the cars were dissembled and there was a small fire in front of their car. James and Emma ran to put it out as Jack shouted, "The break went out!"

"Turn harder!" James shouted back, taking his jacket and hitting the fire with it. Emma did the same with her coat.

The wheel for the break broke in Jack's hands. He held it up and James sighed. "Okay, we have plenty of tracks. We'll just coast to a stop."

Just as he said that, there was once again a huge explosion. The little green monsters had worked together to create one giant monster, strong enough to break the tracks of the up ahead bridge.

They all gasped before Emma asked James, "You were saying?"

This was spiraling out of control so quickly, James's head hurt. How the hell was this even happening? It seemed like something from a movie, not something that could actually happen!

Noticing a chain, James thought of an idea. "Jack, come help me!" he shouted as he grabbed the chain and ran towards the end of the car. He didn't notice that Jack had lost control and accidentally fell backwards into a huge crate.

James was fixing himself on the back of the car, barely holding on when he gasped, "Hand me the chain." When he noticed that it was Emma, he shouted, "Not you!"

Unrepulsed, Emma commented, "Jack's busy at the moment."

James made a face before grabbing onto the chain and as best as he could and knotted it to a bar hanging off of the bottom of the car. Something must have come loose a little further up, because he saw a big piece of metal breaking off and hitting the ground before hitting the bottom of the car. It was bumping back, and James yelled, "No!" before unconsciously reaching up for something to grab, before the piece of metal hit him and he went flying. He didn't realize he had grabbed Emma's hand until she pulled him up and suddenly they were very close. Though there was so much going on, and the last thing he should notice was how attractive Emma was, he couldn't help it. Her eyes. For a moment, he got lost in her eyes, and she seemed to get lost in his.

The spell was broken, however, a moment later when the piece of metal went flying from under the car and hit a branch, knocking it to the ground.

"And to think that could have been you," Emma commented as she pulled him safely into the car.

He dusted off his suit jacket. "If we live through this, remind me to thank you."

James and Emma each bent down to push the rest of the chain onto the track. "Brace yourselves," James yelled.

The chain idea, however, did not work the way James intended. He thought that the chain would lock onto the tracks, therefore slow the car down a little. Instead, it pulled the tracks up, causing the car to go sideways and to push the rest of the wood off of the tracks.

"I say we jump," Jack yelled.

"Yep."

"Sounds good."

They got all of their belongings and Emma held tightly onto Pooky as they looked at each other before jumping off the edge of the car. They each hit the ground with a loud thud, but that was better than being in the car that went over the whole in the bridge and created a massive explosion.

Getting up, James commented, "I hate trains. I'm never getting on another one again."


	4. In the Dark of the Night

Koschei  screamed in anger and frustration. How the hell did they get away? It didn't seem like it would be possible, but it was. Because they did. He saw the whole thing through his gaseous ball.

Luck. That girl had plain old luck on her side, and it was about time that her luck ended.

But how? It wasn't just her in this situation. She had those two idiots with her as well. And they both seemed so damn protective of her.

Koschei paced, his mind racing. How would he get her alone? She was too smart to walk away from either man for a certain amount of time, so it would almost have to be like she didn't even realize she was doing it.

And that's when he had his most villainous thought yet. Because he knew exactly what to do.

He was going to get inside of her head. Where he knew she would certainly not be able to escape him.

 

~*~

 

"Are we walking to London?" Emma asked, sighing in frustration. They have been walking for over a day, James not going anywhere near a train station (Though Emma couldn't really fault him on that). But it just seemed that they could take _some_ sort of transportation, before Emma's legs fall off. Plus, both men were quite a bit taller than her, therefore walked faster. She had to keep reminding them to slow down.

"No, we're going to take a boat," James informed her.

"Oh." She looked around, but couldn't find any water. "Where's the boat?"

"About a day's journey from here," Jack yelled from up ahead, watching at Pooky used the bathroom.

Emma groaned. "Are you kidding? And are we walking _there_?"

James shook his head. "No, Your Highness. We're taking a bus."

Emma hated it when James called her 'Your Highness' or 'Princess.' She didn't know why, but it made her feel uneasy. Probably because he was saying it sarcastically. "Oh, a _bus_. That's nice."

About two hours later, Emma begged if they could sit, just for a moment. So she sat down on the suitcases near a small walking bridge as Jack exclaimed to her his delight in seeing Donna again.

"Who's Donna?" Emma asked.

"Who's Donna?!" Jack responded, "Oh, she's a fiery one, let me tell you. Always yelling and screaming, though that's just how she shows her affections. The more she hits you, the more she likes you."

Jack didn't see James making slashing signals under his chin or mouthing to him to stop. That hadn't explained yet to Emma that Donna was kind of a key element in her getting anywhere near the King. Basically, James didn't bring it up for two reasons: he didn't want to overwhelm Emma and he kind of forgot about Donna until this very moment.

"Jack," James muttered close to Jack. "Stop it! Now!"

But again Jack was so happy to be close to Donna again, he either didn't hear James, or chose to ignore him. "She's a decadent pastry filled with whipped cream and laughter and fire!"

Emma turned to James. "Is Donna a person or a cream puff?"

"She is the King's ravishing first cousin!"

James groaned as Emma stood up. "Wait a minute. I thought we were going to see the King. Why are we going to see his cousin?" Turning slowly, she faced James. "James?"

"Well," James said pulling his earlobe. "No one gets near the King without meeting with Donna first."

"Oh no," Emma said, turning around and shouting. "No! No one ever said I had _prove_ I was the Princess!"

"Emma..."

"Show up, fine. Look nice, okay. But _lie_?"

"You don't know if it's a lie," he reminded her. "What if it's true?"

She waved her hands, as if brushing off that thought as James grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. "Okay, so there's one more stop along the way of finding out who you really are. But I just thought that this was something you had to see through no matter what."

"But look at me, James," she said, holding out her raggedy dress. "I'm not exactly dressed like a princess here!"

He groaned which made her groan and stump off in frustration.

James rubbed his face, trying to figure out what in God's name there were going to do next. She was right, of course. Emma wasn't dressed the way one should when pretending to be a princess. It seemed that they were going to have to make a stop along the way.

Emma, meanwhile, was leaning her elbows against the railing on the small bridge that overlooked a creek while fiddling with her necklace. Jack came up next to her.

"Are you okay?"

She sighed. "Yes. No. I don't know at this point."

"What's the problem?"

She looked at her reflection. Her face was smudge with dirt, her clothes were filthy, and the last thing she felt like was a princess. How was she ever going to make the King believe she was one when she didn't feel it herself?

"I'm nobody, Jack," she said, confirming what Ms Cassandra O'Brien had said for the past ten years. Maybe she should have turned left and gone to that fish market. "I was born a nobody and I should have just stayed that way."

"What about being Princess Roselyn?"

She gave a heartless chuckle. "Jack, I'm no princess. I have no past and as of right now, no future."

He looked down at her reflection before looking back up at her. "Is that truly what you see?"

She nodded. He gently turned her to face him. "Wanna know what I see? I see a woman worth fighting for. I see an engaging and fiery young woman, who on a number of occasions has shown a regal command equal to any royal in the world. Plus, you continually put James in his place, and let me tell you, people don't do that easily."

Emma smiled before laughing lightly. "Thank you, Jack."

He gave her a hug, patting her lightly on the back. "Anytime, Sweetheart. Anytime."

When they pulled back, Jack looked over to see James staring at them with a look on his face that Jack couldn't name. But then James shook it off and walked over to stand on the other side of Rose, who leaned her elbows against the railing once more.

"So, are you ready to be Princess Roselyn?"

Emma bit her lip before looking back at Jack.

"There's nothing left for you back there, Em. Everything is in London."

She looked ahead and took a deep breath before saying, "Okay. I'm ready!"

Jack and James took their job of making sure she knew everything very seriously. The entire walk to the bus stop, they told her everything she would need to know, everything she would need to remember. The list grew more and more. It wasn't just people, but places that she had visited, and how she was to behave. She had to sit up straight, use the right fork, walk a certain way. How she was introduce to people was so vastly different than anything she had experienced before. And when James kissed her hand to show her how it would be done, she couldn't stop the blush from running up her neck, though for the life of her she didn't know why. They were more than comfortable walking her through this, that her nerves faded after a while. She figured that if they could do it, so could she.

Even on the bus ride, they continued their lesson, asking her questions on who certain people were from and how were they related to her. Even when she got answers wrong (which she did often) neither man got frustrated with her. Instead, they would think of ways to help her out. Help her form connections. She was so grateful for them, she didn't know how she would ever repay them. 

Before they got on the boat, James insisted that they go to a local cafe and get something to eat. "To celebrate your great success!" he told Emma, when she raised an eyebrow. But she was dying to try that chocolate concoction they had in the window, and Jack commented that he would love a cup of decent coffee. James told them to pick him up something to nibble on before walking towards the other shops.

"He is a strange man," Emma commented as she dug her fork in the heavenly goodness.

"You're just figuring that out now?"

Once James was back and they had all finished their food, they boarded the boat. They got a small room that only had bunk beds. "I'll sleep on the floor," James said. Emma tried to insist that she would be fine, but James stopped her saying, "What kind of gentleman would I be if I let a lady sleep on the floor?"

"Who is this and where's James Smith?" Jack asked.

James shot him a look before saying, "It's fine. I've slept in worse conditions, trust me."

The topic was dropped when Jack suggested they go up to the deck and play some games. As they turned to go, James said, "Oh, Emma. I er, got you something."

Jack was already up the stairs, but Emma turned back and faced James. "What? You didn't have to get me anything."

"I know. But," he pulled his earlobe before rubbing his neck, "I remembered what you said about not being properly dressed and....anyway, I got you this. I hope it fits." He handed her a bag.

She took it tentatively. "There's not like a snake or something in the bag, is there?"

James shook his head before raising his hands and walking around her towards the door. "I try to do something nice and she thinks I'm making a joke."

Emma pulled out a light blue dress and held it up to her shoulders. She bit her lip before turning her head to look out the door that James just walked through. Turning back to the dress, she hummed a song to herself as swung the bottom of the skirt around.

 

~*~

 

"So, what's going on between you and Emma?"

James looked up from the chess board to look at Jack, who was still looking down.

"What are you talking about?"

"I just noticed that you two bicker an awful lot and then you bought her something. I'm just curious what's going on between you two."

"Nothing," James said, hating that his neck was heating up. "Nothing is going on between us."

"Do you _want_ something?"

James groaned. Jack held up his hands. "Look I'm all for you school boy crush or whatever, but James trend lightly."

"Nothing is going on, Jack. She just...she just looks an awful lot like Rose, that's all."

"You still harboring a crush on the princess?"

"You don't understand, Jack. I was in love with that girl. But I was also ten-years-old, a child who didn't understand what being in love felt like. I just remember...the night of the party...You know, _that_ party...I would have given anything to dance with her. But," he shrugged. "Shit happened and now I have barely enough to cover me, let alone someone else. Hence why we are going through this in the first place."

Jack nodded. "So your plan is dump her with the King and make a break for it?"

"Yep," he said, moving a piece on the board. "And then I'm off with my half and you can do whatever the hell you want with your half."

"And you're just going to walk away from Emma?"

"Jack, what the hell?" James said, getting frustrated. "I don't understand what the big deal is! I do not have any feelings for Emma! I can barely stand the girl!"

Jack nodded before silencing himself. They were quite for a few minutes before Jack said, "Check mate."

They heard a cough behind them and they both looked up to see Emma standing there wearing the light blue dress James just bought her.

"Oh, _perfecto!_ " Jack commented walking over to her.

James stood next to the chair and gripped it tightly with one hand. He had to remind his stupid racing heart that just because she fixed herself up a little meant nothing. Sure she cleaned herself up as best as she could, so the dirt marks on her cheeks were now gone. And she brushed out her blonde hair and styled it a little. But she was still Emma, the orphan girl they were using to make millions. She was not James's date or anything.

Jack's voice brought James down to reality. "And now that you are dressed for a party, you will learn to dance for one as well. James?" Jack beckoned him over.

James's feet betrayed him, by moving forward even though the last thing he wanted to do this moment was dance with Emma.

"I, er, I'm not very good," he told her. He remembered having lessons from someone in the kitchen all those years ago, but he forgot everything now. Whether it was because of time, however, or the woman currently in his arms, he couldn't really say.

They began waltzing clumsy, trying to find rhythm, before Jack told them both to relax. Now more natural, James took Emma into his arms and they looked into each other's eyes before waltzing around the deck as if they were born to do so.

"You, uh, look very pretty, Emma," James told her in a hushed voice. He didn't know why he was whispering. But it seemed like a time when speaking at a higher volume would be unnatural.

"Oh, thank you," she blushed. "I appreciate you buying it for me."

"Oh, it was no problem. I'm glad you like it. It looked really pretty on the hanger, but it, er, it looks much better on you. You should wear it sometime."

She smiled. "I _am_ wearing it."

"Right, right." He shook his head. "I was just paying you ah..."

"Compliment?"

"Yes."

Pooky joined Jack off to the side, panting happily next to one of his favorite people. Jack patted him lovingly on the head before looking back at the dancing buddies.

"You know, Pooky, we taught that girl everything we know about being a princess and who and what Princess Roselyn would know. But we may have forgotten about romance." He sighed. "No matter what James says, he has feelings for that girl. Feelings that are going to get him into trouble. Because I think he's breaking rule one faster than he realizes."

James and Emma were still dancing around, spinning now. They were completely lost in each other's eyes, the sun setting behind them making a beautiful picture. Neither of them realized it at the time, but they were fighting a losing battle.

"My head hurts," Emma commented at last. Her voice sounded far away, even to her own ears. It was like she was dreaming, vaguely remembering dancing with a man before, though she was certain she never did. But it felt different somehow. Though she may have dreamed of dancing with man, it wasn't like dancing with the man in front of her. She felt safe and secure in James's arms, almost like she has known him her entire life. She didn't want to leave.

They had stopped spinning, now just looking at the other one. Emma wanted to pause this moment, just for a minute. She never felt like this before, like she was flying and falling at the same time, and it felt incredible as well as terrifying.

 "It's probably from spinning," James told her, just as softly. Whatever spell she was under, he was under it as well, and that made Emma feel a little bit better.  "We should probably stop."

"We have stopped," she whispered.

"Emma, I--"

"Yes?"

James leaned down, just a tiny bit. Emma closed her eyes, her heart pounding in her ears. He was going to kiss her! And she was actually kind of okay with that.

The spell was broken, however, when Pooky barked. James leaned back and shook his head, almost like clearing this thoughts. What was he doing?! He shouldn't be doing this, not at all! He was using this woman to make him a rich man, and now he was falling--going to kiss her! That was ridiculous! He didn't even like her, though he was quickly rethinking that.

When he saw Emma, still with her eyes closed, he just took her hand and patted it, which made her open her eyes. 

"You're doing well," he told her before quickly bowing and making his exit, leaving a stunned and confused Emma behind.

 

~*~

 

Dinner was an awkward affair, with James barely talking or eating and excusing himself as soon as Emma and Jack were finished. Emma asked Jack if he knew what had happened to James, but assured her that he was fine. "Probably those nibbles we got him earlier went bad quickly." He said. She wasn't so sure, but decided not the press the issue.

When Jack and Emma went back to their room, James had taken some extra sheets the maid gave him, and put the luggage around in a semi-circle against the wall to make a private little area for him. He had already laid down when they entered, and by the time Emma and Jack changed into their pajamas, they could hear James lightly snoring.

Emma and Jack decided to stay up a little bit longer, quietly talking. Jack was such an interesting man, and he was telling Emma about how he had met James and some of the adventures they had. "I do envy him, though," Jack said, looking over at James. "He can sleep through anything."

Emma was about to comment when Pooky went over towards James and started sniffing at his feet. Pooky had this weird thing about licking people - he loved to lick people's legs and feet. James hated this, always moving Pooky away from him when he felt the dog starting to lick him. And even unconscious, he kicked his legs, missing Pooky but knocking over the one bag James always carried. A few things fell out, including a small blue box that grabbed Emma's attention.

"Pretty jewelry box, no?" Jack asked, yawning, as Emma reached over and picked up the box.

"A jewelry box? Is that what it is?" Emma turned the box slowly in her hand. In a far away distance, she could hear people lightly chattering and music playing beautifully.

"What else could it be?"

She had no idea. But she did know that it wasn't a jewelry box. "I don't know," she answered. "But it's almost like...almost like a secret."

"What? Like a secret messaging box or something?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. Like something special." She started laughing when Pooky licked her feet. Distracted enough, Emma put down the box and clapped before opening her arms, the signal for Pooky to jump into her arms. Jack groaned as he got up and went onto the top bunk."Do you think that's possible?" Emma asked, getting into her own bed.

"Anything's possible," he said, lying down. "After all, you taught James how to waltz."

Emma laughed before cuddling into her own bed, Pooky snuggled up next to her. "Good night, Jack."

"Sweet Dreams, Em."

Emma sighed, content. "Good night, Pooky."

Unbeknownst to the three adults in the room, three little green monsters flew in, looking for one person in particular and when they found her, the set their evil scheme in motion.

 

_Emma looked around, finding herself in a field. She wasn't too concerned on how she got there, but just found that she was enjoying herself. She laid back on the green grass, loving the feel of it between her fingers. She smiled contently, closing her eyes, the light of the sun still visible. The warm air blew her white dress and when she opened her eyes, she was in a field of roses. She wasn't scared. These roses were harmless, she was certain of it._

_She looked over and saw a man who had his back to her. All she could see was his long brown coat and his short brown hair. "Excuse me!" she called out. "Do you know where I am?"_

_But the man did not answer her. In fact, he didn't even turn around. "Excuse me, sir!" she called out, standing up. She walked over to him, the smell of roses strong. She patted his shoulder. "Sir? Sir? Where are we?"_

_The man turned around and she gasped. "James?"_

_He looked so sad. "Run," he told her before running away from her._

_"James? James! Come back!" she ran after him and suddenly she was lost in the deep forest, no way out. Then she saw three butterflies and there were so beautiful, she began following them._

 

Emma slowly got out of bed, but she was unaware that she was doing so. She was sleepwalking, the three little monsters leading her out the door. But Emma did not realize this, because to her she was in the forest following some butterflies.

But Pooky grew concern. It wasn't his master getting out of bed that woke him, but instead the sound of thunder. And when he looked up at the head of the bed and saw it empty, he knew something was wrong. He ran out the door and towards the stairs, but his master was gone and something wet was falling onto the stairs. Pooky barked and barked, but no one answered and his master didn't come back.

 

_Emma followed the butterflies until they reached a clearing and there were four people standing there, as though waiting for her. A young woman who look a lot like Emma, only she was a tad thinner and had harsher features. A little boy who had Emma's eyes and smile, and was waving enthusiastically at Emma. An older woman who had her blonde hair and blue eyes, who beamed when she saw Emma. And finally an older man who had strawberry blonde hair that was receding and waved Emma over._

_"Come, Rose. Come join us!"_

_"Oh!" Emma responded. "I'm not Rose! I'm Emma."_

_The little boy laughed, "Oh Rose! How funny you are!"_

_Emma walked closer to the family and gasped when the young woman jump over the cliff. "Oh my God!" she shouted as she ran closer._

_The family laughed. "It's a lake, Rose," the older woman told her. "Nothing to be afraid of. You were never scared of anything, I could tell you that. Used to run our staff crazy, didn't she, Pete?"_

_The older man smiled fondly. "Oh, yes you did."_

_The little boy was bored of the conversation and jumped over the edge. Emma laughed along with the two people, enjoying herself._

 

Pooky was still barking, wondering why his master wasn't returning. Turning around he ran back into the room and over towards James, who pushed him away.

But Pooky was insistent and refused to give up, practically barking in James's ear. Finally the young man sat up and grabbed Pooky, picking the dog up. "Pooky? What are you--? What is it? What?" And just as his sleepy mind cleared, James realized something. Pooky, who could barely stand James, was waking him up. Why?

"Emma," he realized when it clicked in his head. Pooky would only come to him if something happened to Emma. He looked over at the bed and seeing it empty made James jump up, almost dropping Pooky in his rush to find her.

"Emma!" he called, Pooky barking behind him. He ran up the stairs, the rain instantly soaking him. He looked around, but Emma wasn't anywhere in sight. James decided to go up to the crow's nest and see if he could find her from up there.

 

_Emma watched as the other two people jumped into the lake. "Come in, Rose!" the woman called. "The water is beautiful!"_

_Emma laughed, but shook her head. She didn't want to get wet._

_The young woman and boy were splashing each other. They were having so much fun._

_"Come join us, Rose!" the older man called out._

_"No, no. I'm good!" she called back, holding onto a vine as the family below her played in the water._

_"Jump!" they called out. "Jump! Jump!"_

James could barely see, the rain coming down in sheets. But when he finally reached the top, he looked around, hoping he could see Emma. His heart was in his stomach and he honestly had no idea what he would do if he lost her.

And the money was the furthest thing from his mind.

When he finally saw her--which he could just barely make her out--she was standing on the ledge of the boat, holding onto a rope. Oh my God! She's gonna jump!

"Emma! No!" James screamed, reaching out for a rope that was close to him. He pulled it closer to him. "Emma! Don't!"

 

_"Emma! No! Emma! Don't!"_

_Emma turned around, that voice so familiar to her. It was James. Was he coming back?_

_She went to investigate when suddenly the older man called again. "Jump, Rose! Jump!"_

_"I can't," she said, looking behind her. "I think my friend is calling for me."_

_"Yes!" the older man suddenly turned in a huge green winged monster. His voice got a hundred times deeper and he became a vision from a nightmare.  The other two woman and boy disappeared as the sky turned a bloody red. "Jump! The Tyler curse must be fulfilled!"_

_Emma was terrified, trying to lean back but the monster grabbed onto her arm, pulling her forward. She was screaming, her beautiful day now a day from Hell. Suddenly something grabbed her from behind and the grip on her arm let go._

_But whatever grabbed her from behind was holding on tight. "Let go!" she shouted. "Let me go!"_

Emma was flailing in his arms and it was almost a miracle he didn't drop her. She was holding onto a rope and little else and he was certain she was going to jump. But they were both on the deck now, far away from the edge as he got her to stand up and shook her awake.

"Emma! Wake up! Wake up!"

"Let me go!" she screamed once more before opening her eyes. She was breathing deep and looking everywhere before finally focusing on him. "The curse. The Tyler curse." She said quickly, her eyes bright.

"The what?"

"The curse. The family curse."

"Emma, what are you--?"

She suddenly clung to him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. She sobbed into his chest, "I keep seeing faces, so many faces."

James carefully wrapped his arms around her and looked around before smiling softly and laying his cheek against the top of her head. "It's okay. I've got you. You're safe now."   



End file.
